Magician makes fame disappear on purpose

April 25, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Johnny Ace Palmer has performed at Hollywood's Magic Castle twice a year for 29 years. The close-up magician learned his first card trick at age 4 and launched his first stage show, for pay, at age 10. “One of the most important parts of being a good magician is being able to design a really good show,” he says, meaning it's more than a series of tricks. It must build and entertain. Palmer, who twice has been named the Magic Castle's "Close Up Magician of the Year," also lectures on and teaches magic. PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

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Johnny Ace Palmer makes four half-dollars walk across the fingers of his left hand. In eighth grade, he learned this with his right hand. In 10th grade, he got a class ring so he learned the maneuver on his left hand. Later, when he got married, he learned to remove his wedding ring – without anyone noticing – just before performing the maneuver and then replace his ring – again, without anyone noticing – as soon as he finished. PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

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Magicians never tell their secrets but here's one that Johnny Ace Palmer is willing to share: “The most important thing is how you make people feel when you do magic,” he says. “It's not the secret, it's the entertainment.” Palmer performs 28 shows a week when he's at the Magic Castle and usually gets 28 standing ovations -- right after he produces two doves seemingly out of thin air. PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

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In 1988, Johnny Ace Palmer won magic's highest award – the International Federation of Magic Societies' Grande Prix, which had never before been given to a close-up magician. When Palmer walked up to accept the award, one judge whispered to him: "I want you know it was a unanimous decision,” while another whispered: “You made me love magic again.” That night, Palmer says, “I was kind of afraid to go to sleep because when I woke up, it might not be real.” Here, he relaxes at the Magic Castle's Inner Circle Ballroom before a recent show. PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

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Johnny Ace Palmer performs at Hollywood's Magic Castle twice a year but rarely performs in Vegas or on TV. “I don't want to be famous,” he says. “I want to be good at what I do. I love what I do. But my goal is to have a balanced life.” He prefers to play private parties, corporate gigs and even local restaurants so he can spend more time with his wife and two daughters. “He's one of a kind,” says Dennis Klempner, who's hired Palmer to perform at his “Earth Wind & Flour” restaurant in Santa Monica, every Sunday night for 18 years. “He's such a gentleman and the people absolutely love him.” PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

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These baby chicks are not only part of Johnny Ace Palmer's stage act. They're part of a technique called a fake ending. When Palmer produces three baby chicks in three cups near the end of his act, it feels like his showstopper. People cheer like crazy, thinking he's done. How could he top that? When he does – by producing two live doves, seemingly out of thin air – people jump to their feet. PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

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Some of the top companies in the world hire Johnny Ace Palmer. Disney uses him at premiere events like “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “WALL-E” and “Ratatouille.” Mattel used him to help design a line of Harry Potter magic toys. And Caesars Palace in Vegas used him to help open its $50 million Caesars Magical Empire in 1996. Palmer has also been flown to Japan, Spain and elsewhere for corporate events, including one 10-minute show in Germany. PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

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Johnny Ace Palmer performs in the Magic Castle's Close Up Gallery twice a year – in April, during the week of April Fool's Day. And in September, during the week of Labor Day. The Magic Castle named him its Close Up Magician of the Year in 1987 and again in 1988. It also named Palmer its Lecturer of the Year, for his lectures training other magicians, in 1996 and 1999. Here, he prepares for a recent show in the intimate, 30-seat Close Up Gallery. PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

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The Magic Castle in Hollywood bills itself as the "most unusual private club in the world." The converted Victorian mansion serves as clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. Co-founding brothers Milt and Bill Larsen opened the Castle in 1963 as a place for magicians to gather and swap trade secrets over drinks and dinner. It remains a members-only club for magicians and magic lovers. For more information, visit: www.magiccastle.com PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

Johnny Ace Palmer has performed at Hollywood's Magic Castle twice a year for 29 years. The close-up magician learned his first card trick at age 4 and launched his first stage show, for pay, at age 10. “One of the most important parts of being a good magician is being able to design a really good show,” he says, meaning it's more than a series of tricks. It must build and entertain. Palmer, who twice has been named the Magic Castle's "Close Up Magician of the Year," also lectures on and teaches magic.PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY TOM BERG, THE REGISTER

I am walking through Hollywood's Magic Castle with a legend, a man who's performed here 29 years and still gets four standing ovations a night.

He doesn't do big magic. He does small magic; up-close. So close that you're almost on top of Johnny Ace Palmer when baby chicks pop out of cups two feet from your nose. Or when a bottle of Coke materializes in front of your eyes. Or when a live dove flies out of his hand and then – before your jaw returns to place – multiplies into two doves!

"I was put on earth to do magic," says Palmer, 51, who twice won the Magic Castle's prestigious "Close Up Magician of the Year."

Palmer got good by paying attention to details. Tiny details. Minuscule details. And then perfecting them. Which is why he's puzzled when the entertainment director approaches about the length of Palmer's 18-minute show.

The director holds up his stopwatch in disbelief: 18 minutes, 00 seconds.

Precisely.

Such precision made Palmer a world champion magician. It's why Disney chose him to perform at their premiere events for "Pirates of the Caribbean," "WALL-E" and "Ratatouille." And it's why another client flew Palmer to Germany – for a single, 10-minute show.

How did he get so good? It started with three short words: "I'll be back."

In 1988, those words made him a world champion. Today, they're reason he says before one show:

"I so don't want to be famous."

MAKING UP TRICKS

Before he could read, Palmer learned his first card trick.

By 9, he had a stage show; by 10, a paying gig; and by 16, membership in two Ohio magic clubs. One day his mom dropped him off at a Cleveland magic shop and, while grabbing coffee nearby, overheard some magicians talking. Naturally, she bragged about her son.

"What can he do?" they asked.

"Have you ever heard of someone pulling a tennis ball out of a thimble?" she said, inventing something to impress them.

They hadn't but none dared admit it.

"I think I read of it in a book," one said, and extended an invitation to their upcoming magic convention.

When Palmer's mom picked him up, she was excited. "You're invited to a magic convention. All you have to do is pull a tennis ball out of a thimble!"

"How am I going to do that?" he asked.

"It's all right," she assured him. "It's in a book somewhere."

It wasn't. But it made Palmer work harder than ever. And it introduced him to the world of magic conventions.

In 1978, one month after graduating high school, he flew to San Diego for his first national "junior" competition. He won.

In 1981, he sought to win as an adult. He placed second and got so upset that he was sick for three months with ulcers.

GOLD CUPS

The next year Palmer sought more than first place. Practicing up to 16 hours a day, he sought the International Brotherhood of Magicians' "Gold Cups of Excellence" award – over-and-above first place and rarely handed out.

He won first place, but not the Gold Cups award.

"I was upset again," he says.

That's when he learned his best trick. It consisted of three words: I'll be back.

"Over the next year, I didn't just work on magic," he says. "I worked on my attitude. I decided if I didn't win first place and the Gold Cups award, I'd just go back the next year and the next and the next – until I won or until I died."

It worked. In 1983, he won both.

"I was like an astronaut that walked on the moon," he says. "I was 23 years old. Now what do I do?"

For one, he began performing at the Magic Castle. And for another, he set his sights on the biggest competition in magic – the International Federation of Magic Societies contest held every three years.

In his first attempt, in 1985, he placed second. "I'll be back," he said.

"For the next three years," he says, "every day, every minute, I'm thinking and preparing for this."

For the 1988 contest, he changed the stone in his ring to match his tuxedo. He learned to tie a bow tie to impress European judges. And he timed his show – with applause and laugh lines – within seconds of the disqualifying 10-minute limit. No room for error.

Palmer sought not only first place but magic's highest award – the Grande Prix, which had never gone to a close-up act. After a week of competition, the judges announced winners in eight categories. Palmer was not one.

"You got robbed," one friend told Palmer, in the audience. "That's not fair," said another. But all Palmer said was: "I'll be back."

And that's when the judges added: "For the first time ever, the Grande Prix goes to a close-up magician: Johnny Ace Palmer."

At last! This was his ticket to fame and fortune.

BALANCE

Except it didn't happen that way.

All these years, Palmer has never chased Hollywood fame.

"I have two daughters and a wife I like to spend time with," he says. "I have a dog I like to take for a walk. I love to go places with my family."

What he seeks is more valuable than celebrity, he says. It is balance – with family, church and work.

"He's one of the top magicians in the world," says magician, author and magic instructor Mark Wilson, 83, of Valencia. "He's also an extremely nice guy."

For the most part, Palmer avoids Vegas (though he helped open the $50 million Caesars Magical Empire in 1996) and TV (though he appeared on the David Letterman show in 2010). He prefers private parties, corporate events, even a steady restaurant gig at Santa Monica's "Earth Wind & Flour" for 18 years.

Now when he says, "I'll be back," it means this: "I'll be home – after the gig."

We're sitting in lawn chairs at a Fountain Valley tennis court where Palmer and his wife Susan watch their daughter Isabel, 14, take a group tennis lesson.

No tuxedo. No doves flying from his hands.

"After she hits a good one, she looks over at me and smiles," says Palmer. "That's one of the most beautiful things in life."

Thwack.

Isabel hits another shot and looks at dad. She smiles. And the man who just got 28 standing ovations at 28 shows in the Magic Castle smiles back and declares:

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